Story on Ice- Ch 5- A New Look
by Smilingbrian
Summary: With the new sponsor, expecting success and no less from the team, they get new equipment, a new team name, jerseys and start playing like a team, recording their first win. The strong offensive force of Johnny, Banks and Phil have gained the support from their fans and their teammates, resulting in an impressive winning streak and a turn of the tide for the new team "Winter Hawks"


Chapter 5- The Right Look

After school on Friday, the team met up at Micah's sporting goods store. They met their sponsor, who donated a large sum of money to the team, knowing Jack's championship history in the past. Jack shakes his hand "I really appreciate this, Paul. Thank you"

"You can thank me by winning a state championship" Paul states to them.

"We'll do it, won't we, Bill?" Jack asks him.

Bill looks at Paul and honestly tells him "We'll do our best" Jack gives him a look, Paul's expression changes as he leaves the store. Jack turns to Bill. "Something wrong, Jack. You look worried"

"Why'd you have to say that? We'll try our best. The only reason he considered us is my winning record. He expects us to have a good record and win a division title and win the championship, he expects nothing less, Bill" Jack informs him.

"I see but this is also my team, Jack. I'm here to teach these kids how to play and have fun, not keep them obsessed with winning" Bill claims.

"Well, we'll see how our coaching styles pan out, Billy boy" Jack tells him.

"I guess we will" Bill says as he turns to the team, watching them buy new pieces of equipment, sticks, Jack and Bill get practice gear as well and pay it to Micah using the sponsor's money. Afterwards, in the back room of Micah's shop, the team sits thinking of a new name. "Since, we're no longer the engineers, let's think of a new team name, any suggestions?"

Harold suggests "How about the bears?"

"That's already been taken, Harold" Amanda says as she slaps Harold's arm.

"The killer whales" Omar says "Nah, that's no good"

"I still like the Ice Hawks" Johnny says as he receives support from Jack, Banks and the other Hawks.

"Hello, we're not all Ice Hawks here, we need a new fresh identity" Jeffrey points out.

"I still think Hawks should be something involved, it's a predator, a tough contender which we want to be" Johnny claims.

Bill stands and says "You guys don't want to be Ice Hawks but you guys still want Hawks involved. Well, let's replace Ice with something else, something cold, ice, frost, cold, snow- Winter- How about the Winter-Hawks? It's a new identity and it still has Hawks inserted, what do you think?"

Everyone thinks, some immediately nod their heads.

"Well, who wants to be a Winter Hawk, I will if you will" Bill claims. It's a quiet room, nobody says anything, and Phil stands up first and shy-fully says

"I'll be a Winter Hawk"

Johnny stands next "I'll be one", next is Banks, Connor, Jack Hobbes, pretty soon the whole team stands up and chants "Winter Hawks! Winter Hawks!"

A week has past, the team lost their game to the Huskies and await their next game against the Yellow Jackets. Jack and Bill are working late at night in Micah's shop determining the right lineups.

"Why is this so hard?" Jack says "The lines we've put together haven't been working, we lost to the Huskies, Bill, that's not a good thing"

Micah interrupts "It's alright, Jack, fun is more important than winning"

"I don't know about that. What I do know is the huskies are below the line, those are the teams you have to beat or you can forget a playoff spot" Jack informs him.

"Alright, take it easy, let's get back to the lines. Forwards we have Johnny, Banks, Connor, Tyler, Bobby, Phil, Tony, Jeffrey, Harold, Amanda, Darcy and Michael. That's twelve, how do we place them right?" Bill asks.

Jack stands and states "Like this, you divide them into two groups, top six forwards and bottom six forwards. Now Johnny, Phil, Banks, Michael, Tyler and your nephew are top six, everyone else is in the bottom"

"Now, hold on a minute, we need to have four good lines if we want to win, not just two and why are your guys top six?" Bill asks curiously.

"Because, they are top six, I don't see any of your guys stepping up" Jack informs. Jack and Bill are at each other's throats when Johnny enters the store.

Micah approaches him first "Hello Johnny, would you care for some hot chocolate?"

"Um, sure thanks" Johnny says as he enters the room "Hi Coach Hobbes, Coach Packer, what's up?"

"Nothing, what brings you here?" Bill asks.

"I just wanted to know who I was playing with, you kept scrambling the lines last time, and I couldn't get any chemistry going" Johnny claims.

"Well, would you mind giving us your input on the lines for tomorrow's game" Jack asks.

"Sure" Johnny says as he studies the board of names. "Well, what's the problem?"

"The problem is Jack has two lines instead of four" Bill protests. "I would like four good lines"

"Well, one line could be me, Banks and Phil" Johnny suggests.

"You centering two right wingers, how would that work?" Jack asks.

"Banks is capable of playing either wing, coach and Phil prefers the right side so what do you think?" Johnny asks.

"It's not bad, how about another line?" Bill asks.

Johnny studies the board again "Does Connor centering Tyler and Bobby work?" Johnny's suggestion impresses his coaches, he suggests a third lineup "Tony, Amanda and Michael with Jeffrey, Harold and Darcy"

Jack and Bill approach him and ask "Do you have suggestions for defensive pairings?" they all have a chuckle.

The next day, they were playing the Yellow Jackets who were in the middle of the standings. The team has been told the new lineups and were intrigued for the game, 20 minutes before the game, they're giving their new jerseys, colors of blue, red and white with the Winter Hawks logo in front and their names and numbers, it was five minutes to the game, they awaited the Zamboni to depart the ice before warming up. Eventually they headed out on the ice, their fans cheered with excitement, they looked like a team doing warm ups, Johnny, Phil, Drew and Banks look at the Yellow Jackets warm up

"Didn't we play this team before?" Drew asks.

"Yeah, and we did beat them but they didn't look this good or big last time" Banks mentions.

"C'mon guys, we beat them before, let's beat them again, who's with me, Phil?" Johnny asks.

"Um, yeah" Phil says.

"Great, let's do it!" Johnny says as they head for the bench and are giving some advice from their coaches before the starting lines take the faceoff. The announcer looks below and says "Hello, hockey fans, Joe Bowens here, it's a matchup between the fifth place Yellow Jackets and the last place new formed Winter Hawks in this 1st division. We're getting ready to drop the puck"

At ice level, Johnny circles and nods to Banks, then to Phil who's a little worried in his first game on the top line. The puck is dropped, Johnny wins the faceoff which goes in Phil's direction but through his legs, as he gets knocked down by the opposing winger.

"Ooh, a good knockdown as the puck is sent in the Winter Hawks zone. Drew Richards, dishes it to Omar Thomas before getting nailed from behind. It goes past Thomas to the blue line, a wrist shot gets through and it's in, the Jackets score, they're up 1-0" the announcer states.

Time has gone by, the score is 3-0 for the Jackets mid-way through the second. The Winter Hawks bench have their heads down. Jack aggravated tells his players "Guys communicate out there, let them know you're there"

Johnny looks at his coach and an idea pops through his head, he nudges Phil "Hey, remember when we were on your rink, that pretend play we did" Phil slowly nods his head "Well, let's try it out on the ice. What do we have to loose, right?" Phil firmly agrees. The lines change, Johnny goes out with Phil and Banks. The puck is sent in their zone, Johnny goes to fetch it.

Joe Bowens states "Here comes Sullivan around his net, he passes the blue line, expects to go through the whole team, he dishes it behind to Maxwell who zooms down the right side, he passes it to Sullivan who tries to take it to the net but can't. So he goes around the net and looks for a man in the slot, finds Maxwell, who shoots and scores! Maxwell scores!"

The team and fans cheer as Phil and Johnny congratulate each other on the play and soon head for the bench. Jack says "Great play, great play, let's see more of that!"

Joe Bowens says "We are now in the third, here's Banks in his own end sees Maxwell, he shoots a long bomb down the right side, Maxwell uses his speed for a two on one, so he waits, stickhandles and crosses it to Sullivan who taps it in for a goal! It's a one goal game now"

The crowd cheers again as Johnny, Banks and Phil are making chemistry. The other lines get into it but can't get the equalizer, time is running out, there's less than a minute left, the top line changes, Johnny stays on a little bit longer.

"And here's Sullivan with the puck, storming down the ice with less than a minute, he has room to skate, he's going to the net and – SCORES! HE SCORES! THE GAME IS TIED WITH 10 SECONDS LEFT! HOLY COW! The game is tied" Bowens shouts.

Johnny is greeted by his teammates who are overjoy, despite it being only a tie.

"Alright, Johnny!" Amanda shouts cheerfully.

"Yeah, nice play, man" Harold says.

"Our first point" Bill says to Jack as they shakes each other's hands.

Afterwards after the little celebration, Johnny walks out with his bag and stick with Phil and Banks. They are soon greeted by Jack. "My stars, Banks great pass, Phil, you got some wheels and you can shoot and Johnny great heroics at the end"

"Thanks, coach" Johnny says as Jack leaves, Johnny then says goodbye to Banks who's get picked up by his parents. Camille and Becky soon greet them while waiting for Connor.

"Great game, you two" Camille proudly says.

"Yeah, you guys were awesome" Becky mentions.

"Thanks. That's what you want is good chemistry and play ability with your line mates. If we had a little more time, we would've won" Johnny states.

"Yeah, but a tie is a building process" Bill says as he and Connor join the group "That was a great sign of heroics at the end there, John"

"I told you, I don't like to lose, coach. When I play hockey, I want to win, so does Banks and Phil and that's what makes us so great together, we're like-minded" Johnny explains.

"So what does a point do for us, Coach?" Connor curiously asks.

"Well, I hate to say it, despite a good effort, you guys don't really move anywhere with just a point, you need a couple wins in order to move up" Bill explains.

"Alright, then let's get some wins together, right guys?" Johnny states. His teammates agree.

The next game had arrived against the Cardinals, the team is in third place. The Winter Hawks step on the ice, Bill holds up Benny and says "Benny, you being the goalie, can't let out as many rebounds as you do. So we need to fix that"

"How coach, you going to give me magical powers of something?" Benny mockingly suggests.

"No, I'm going to use your mind, what do you like, is food your weakness, some momentum, what?" Bill asks.

"Why did you say food first, because I'm fat?" Benny protests.

"No, I just-"Bill explains.

"You're lucky it is food. So what about food?" Benny asks.

"Well, what do you like?" Bill asks.

"I like hamburgers, ice cream sundaes, hotdogs, and sloppy Joes" Benny lists.

Bill gets aggravated and shouts "Okay, I get the picture. Now do you like banana bread?" Benny nods. "Okay, let's say when you catch the puck with your pads, let's say that's the bread basket to put the banana bread and you wouldn't want to crush it or let it loose to get tampered with" Benny shakes his head "And when you catch something, that can be the sloppy Joe, you catch it and don't let it drop, spilling all that meaty goodness all over the ice. Now what don't you like?"

"Brussels sprouts, salad, anything green, I guess unless it's some kind of Ice cream" Benny explains.

"Alright, when the puck comes at you and you don't like those green foods, use this blocker and your stick to swish it away, okay" Bill tells him.

"Okay, but how do I do that?" Benny asks.

"Just imagine it, visualize the puck as something you love to catch or hate to throw off to the side. Just do that but not too much and you should be good" Bill says as Benny heads onto the ice and Bill heads to the bench.

Jack looks and asks "What took you so long?"

"Oh, just giving Benny some motivation before the game" Bill explains.

And here we have it, the Cardinals against the Winter Hawks, Sullivan faces off against Peterson, the puck is dropped and we're on our way" Joe Bowens says from his booth, "Sullivan gains the zone, drops it behind him to Maxwell who lets it go! Oh, good stop by the goalie, Aaron Banks has it trying to find open ice, looking for an opening sends it to the point, to Reinhart back to Banks who assumes the point, he crosses it to Reinhart who lets it go and, a tip and in by Sullivan! What a shot by Reinhart! What a tip by Johnny Sullivan! The Winter Hawks are up 1-0"

Blake, Banks, Johnny and Phil celebrate their goal as they head to the bench, the fans cheer, the team bench gives them a fist pump, and Jack says "Alright, alright, great start, get the lead! That's good, good job, boys"

Time has gone by, in the second the score is 1-1, the Hawks are hemmed in their zone trying to clear it "Clear the zone!" Bill shouts from the bench.

"Hey, get it out of there!" Jack says as well.

"The Winter Hawks are in trouble, Granville has a hold of it, chips it to Evans, who loses control and the point man shoots it back in, Peterson uses his speed to get past Thomas and goes around the net and wires a shot in the top corner! They score!" Bowens mentions.

The tired players go to the bench with their heads down, Bill comforts them "It's alright, we'll get it next time"

"That puck needs to go out!" Jack argues "C'mon, you guys need to step it up!"

In the third, score is still 2-1, with 5 minutes remaining, the Cardinals have a power play which expires, and Tony gives the puck to Johnny who goes forward and turns into his own end "WHERE ARE YOU GOING!" Tony asks.

"Where's he going?" Bill asks from the bench, Johnny goes around his net, starts out, a player goes off and Banks hops on the ice behind the defense, Johnny whistles it down the ice to Banks, who speeds his way past the defense.

"And here's Banks, he's heading for the net, he's in on goal-he scores! Aaron Banks scores from a perfect feed from Johnny Sullivan! The game is tied at two" Bowens says.

Banks is happy as he thanks Johnny for the beautiful pass "Thanks, man"

"Hey, that's not the first time we've done that" Johnny mentions as they chuckle to the bench.

"That's my boys, great feed, great goal!" Jack says to his star players.

There is a little over a minute left, the Cardinals shoot the puck "Great save by Curtis, and Johnny Sullivan again has the puck going the other way, he sends it rink wide to Banks. And here's Banks with the puck, thinking of shooting, spins and sends it to Maxwell who drops it back to Sullivan who's in the slot but can't get a shot off so he passes it to Banks who one times it into the back of the net! They score! They win! Winter Hawks win!" Joe Bowens explains.

The three stars celebrate their first win of the season as a team; the rest of the team joins them. Bill and Jack shake hands "That's one" Bill says.

"Of many" Jack states as he gives pats to the back of his stars.

Afterwards, Jack catches up to Bill whose leaving the rink to his car "Billy, wait up! Where are you going in such a hurry?" Jack asks.

"I'm going home to think about the team" Bill explains.

"You can think later, it's time to celebrate" Jack argues.

"Celebrate what?" Bill asks.

"A victory, we won, our first win as a team, the way you look like you lost big time, son" Jack tells him.

"I'm happy we won but I still feel we're a one line show, Jack. Johnny, Banks and Phil are scoring, making plays" Bill explains.

"And winning, they're building amazing chemistry together and the team loves it, the fans love it-our fans love it" Jack informs him.

"Yeah, that's great but I'd like the other's to contribute offensively too" Bill tells him.

"They did, that Italian kid passed it to Johnny while on the penalty kill which resulted in a goal and that big fella shot it, which was tip by Johnny resulting in another goal" Jack explains.

"Yeah but the other lines themselves are relying on Johnny, Banks and Phil to get the job done, save the day. And there'll come a time where they have bad luck and can't score and there we'll have to rely on secondary scoring" Bill says.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it, Billy?" Jack asks him. "Don't suggest splitting them up…unless you want them to turn on you again"

"No, keep them together but…Johnny's been making the plays with Banks and Phil, maybe double shift him to get the other lines going. Do you think he's capable of doing that?" Bill asks.

"Let's find out" Jack says as they see Johnny walk out with Connor. "Johnny, come here"

Johnny approaches them with Connor and says "Yeah, coach"

"Well, Bill wants secondary scoring and he was wondering if you can double shift with the other lines? Would you like that, son?" Jack asks.

Johnny thinks for a moment "You want me to double shift as center with the others lines as well as my own?" they nod, Johnny smirks and says "I'd love to, yeah, that'd be great" Jack and Bill pat him on the back.

"Wait, coach, if he's double shifting, then how will it work?" Connor asks.

"It's like this, Johnny centers his line, then yours, then his, then the third, his again and the fourth and his again, does that make sense?" Jack asks.

Connor is a bit consumed nods his head and Jack walks away with Johnny, Bill soon follows.

The next couple games have come, Johnny has been double shifting for all of them, highlights of every game are shown against the Tigers, Bears, Eagles, Bulldogs, Rockets' etc. Joe Bowens announces the highlights "Against the Tigers, a two on one, Sullivan double shifting passes to Robinson, who scores! Power-play, Richards, Maxwell to Banks scores! The dying seconds, Sullivan has a break on the empty net, he has Goodwin with him, he crosses it to him, Goodwin scores on the empty net, very unselfish play as they beat the Tigers. The Bears are hungry making it tough for the Winter Hawks but Reinhart, Thomas and Jones are dishing it back, here's Sullivan who sends Bianchi in on goal, he scores, Tony Bianchi with a goal. Granville banks if off to Sullivan who enters the zone and launches it at the net, big rebound and- Maxwell jams the rebound to score! Oh the Eagles prevail as the Winter Hawks couldn't get the equalizer, the Bull Dogs shut down the stars for the Winter Hawks but stars always have a bounce back game and they did against the Rockets. Here's a two on one, Evans to Sullivan for the tap in, scores! Sullivan back to Maxwell, he lets it go and scores! Banks goes the length of the ice, he crosses center ice, to the opposing zone, heads for the net and SCORES! WHAT A GOAL! The three stars are on fire! And that'll do it, another win for the Winter Hawks, they're twelve of the season!"

Bill walking down to the rink for another game, Jack catches up to him with a few papers in his hands "Billy, you'll want to see this" Jack says. Bill looks closely at the papers "Point leaders, we have four in the top ten, goal leaders, we have three in the top ten. Bet you can't guess who they are? Oh, I'll tell you, Johnny Sullivan, 23 games, 17 goals, 37 points, Aaron Banks, 25 goals, 33 points and Phil Maxwell, 14 goals, 22 points, are those stats or what?"

Bill nods his head, "Yes that is very impressive, what's that other sheet?"

Jack sticks it in his face "The standings, seven games left, sitting in sixth, do you think we got a shot at the division title?"

"I don't know, the Eagles got a lot more points on us and I don't think they're going to drop seven straight, Jack" Bill informs him "We just need to focus on making the playoffs and trying out best" Bill leaves as Jack follows as they enter the change room "Team, listen up. We have seven games left and we're sitting in sixth in the playoffs" the team cheers "However, the bottom four behind us can still catch us, so let's not take the gas pedal off" the team shouts as they head onto the ice.

"Hello everyone, Joe Bowens here, announcing a matchup between the Bulldogs and the Winter Hawks. And he we are, Thomas gives it to Sullivan, who's the main core for making plays on this team and he's being covered by two players. I guess the Bulldogs aren't taking any chances with him" Bowens states.

Time has gone by, it's 2-0 Bulldogs in the second, the double coverage is working on Johnny as every shift he takes, he can't make a play "Uh, this isn't looking good, the Bulldogs have shut down the offensive stars of the Winter Hawks, especially Sullivan, who's been driven heavily this season trying to get offense from the other Hawk players but he just can't seem to get anything going" Bowens says.

Jack and Bill watch from the bench "Dammit! He can't get anywhere and Banks and Phil, whenever they get a chances, it's blocked, goalie saves it or it hits the post" he says.

"In the third, score is still 2-0, hasn't been much offense in the game or is that going to change, Sullivan skating from his own end, we've seen past plays which have been successful for him. He crosses the line, going down the left side, goes to the net but is pushed to go around and-ooh, he gets sandwiched from behind and he goes down- and I think-yes that's going to be a penalty, boarding for the second player. And Sullivan is down and he's not getting up, the crowd is speechless and in concern, his coach goes to help him up and he slowly gets up but needs assistance as he's carried back to the bench"

At the bench, Phil and Bill set Johnny on the bench, "You alright?" Bill asks.

"I feel fine-except I've been wind struck or something" Johnny says.

The ref comes over and says "Coach, you're on the power play"

"I can go on, coach" Johnny tells him.

"No, I think you better stay here until you get your second wind, we may put you on the second unit" Bill says as he sees Johnny lower his head "Banks, Phil, Blake, Drew and Connor, get out there!. You just take deep breaths, Johnny"

"Is he alright?" Jack asks with concern.

"Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of him" Bill explains.

The power play has been on for over a minute, the Hawks just can't get the right play, the puck is sent out of the zone, Johnny stands and says "I feel better, coach"

Jack and Bill ask "You sure, you don't feel woozy?" Johnny shakes his head "Good because you're on" Banks comes off, Johnny goes on and slowly joins his teammates back in the attacking zone.

"Maxwell with the puck, circles, passes to Evans who sends a rink wide pass to Sullivan who lets it go and scores! Welcome back to the ice, gets knocked down one minute, misses the majority of the power play and still ends up scoring the goal!" Bowens says.

"Nice pass, Connor" Johnny says.

"Good to see you well and scoring again" Connor says

"Well, this game is far from over, with five remaining, a one goal game, Maxwell enters the zone, stops at the blue line, Reinhart goes to the net, Maxwell on his off wing lets it go and scores! It was all thanks to the screen from Reinhart, tie game" Bowens says.

There is now less than a minute left, "Here's Maxwell going down his right side, swings it back to Banks who glides along the blue line, sends it back to Maxwell who crosses it to Sullivan who fakes the shot, spins, back hands it to the blue line to Thomas who lets it go-and scores! Winter Hawks win! What a comeback! Beating off the Big, bad Bulldogs" Bowens states. "This is a true Cinderella story, when all seemed lost in this game, they bounced right back".


End file.
